Parks Associates announced its latest survey suggests that more Christmas shoppers in the U.S. plan to purchase a Sony game console over the competition.
Asked for clarification, a spokesperson confirmed that the results report a brand, not model choice.
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Unedited press release follows:
Parks Associates Finds Sony Poised to Top Microsoft in Game-Console Sales This Holiday Season
Research Firm Finds More U.S. Consumers Plan to Purchase Sony PlayStation 4 Over Microsoft Xbox One in the 2013 Holiday Shopping Season
DALLAS, TX–(Nov 19, 2013) – Parks Associates research shows many U.S. holiday shoppers have already picked the game-console brand they plan to buy this season, including Black Friday, with 36% of console shoppers planning to purchase a Sony gaming console and 27% planning to buy a Microsoft product. Both companies are releasing next-generation consoles this year, and Sony reports sales of PlayStation 4 exceeded 1 million consoles in the first 24 hours after release. Microsoft is releasing Xbox One this week. Nintendo is third among console shoppers, and Ouya, a relatively inexpensive ($99) Android-powered game console, is the fourth most-desired brand.
“Tablets are overall the most-popular CE device this holiday season, but new consoles from Sony and Microsoft, along with a new, less-expensive option in Ouya, will reinvigorate gaming this year,” said John Barrett, director, Consumer Analytics, Parks Associates. “These new models will also help get shoppers into the stores, as console shoppers prefer to shop at retail stores versus purchasing online. Almost 50% of console shoppers plan to shop in-person, at a retail store, while 48% of tablet shoppers plan to shop for that device online.”
Parks Associates reports 56% of U.S. broadband households plan to purchase at least one CE device in the 2013 holiday season and 40% of these households intend to acquire a game console. These households plan to purchase, on average, four devices and spend over $1,000 on CE purchases.
“Roughly 15% of all U.S. broadband households plan to purchase both a tablet and a game console, which could create some tension between the categories,” Barrett said. “These households plan to purchase on average almost eight different CE devices this holiday season, so once they factor in household budget limitations, shoppers may have to trim their lists and ultimately decide between devices.”
• Shoppers planning to purchase both a tablet and a game console plan to spend roughly $1,400 this holiday season, enough to afford both devices but likely not enough for all the products they plan to purchase this year.
• Shoppers who intend to purchase a tablet but not a game console plan to spend $1,133 this season. Those who plan to buy a game console but not a tablet plan to spend $989.
2013 Holiday CE Purchase Intentions features consumer research from a nationwide survey of 2,500 U.S. broadband households fielded in 4Q 2013. Data on other CE devices are also available. Contact Holly Sprague at 720.987.6614, hsprague@gmail.com for more information on Parks Associates’ CE holiday shopping research.
About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.